Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Running authors Bob Glove and Pete Schuder in Run Less Run Faster caution that if runners are more than two minutes faster than their target half-marathon split, they have blown ther marathon and will suffer for it over the last few miles.

Be safe, cautious, and plan your marathon. Only about two percent of runners run the second half of their race in the same time as the first half. It's easy to start out with fresh legs, a smile on your face and everything going your way. But they don't call it marathon for nothing. Pacing yourself is essential on long runs. And even splits is the key. For the marathon, you should strive to keep the disparity between the two halves less than 5 minutes -- for example, 1:39 for the first half and around 1:42 to 1:44 for the second half.

Take time to work on pacing. It will pay off in the end. And you'll get your just desserts.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle." --Ernest Hemingway

And speaking of riding, why don't you consider the beautiful ride R.A.N.A.T.A.D. or Ride Around Nebo And Timpanogos in A Day this summer. This ride is a unique cycling experience that caters to all levels of riders. Anyone with a desire to push both body and mind to the extreme can participate in this even on August 4th.

utahpictures.com

Check out the information here:
http://www.sundanceresort.com/explore/pdf/ranatad_web_info.pdf

Monday, March 29, 2010

A few Tri-Mesa members headed out to St. George last weekend to do a little recon mission for the Ironman in May. The reports back are ... well, I'll let you read them for yourself.

The first report is from IM New Zealand finisher Greg Davis:
Both bike and run courses are tough. Swim is uphill too.

Twenty miles to St. George from Sand Hollow is generally downhill, but has some long climbs too. Once you are on the loop, it starts pretty easy – mostly downhill and flat. You wind through some neighborhoods. Then you turn on Old River Road and the fun starts. You have a few miles of really beat-up road – old chip-seal and gradual climbs. There is one short downhill to the river bottom. Once you turn for the road up Snow Canyon, it is a consistent climb. The steeper sections aren’t crazy long, but you are mostly up or flat.

There are two steep climbs – one after the town of Gunlock (8% +) but it is not long. Then you hit the “wall” which is a steep climb for about a mile. The wind was awful for us the whole time except on the Wall. It turned into a tail wind up the wall which made it easy to climb. We were going 8 mph after we reached the top and turned into the headwind again. The road was almost flat, but the wind was blowing that hard. Downhill was nice after Veyo. You still climb for 3 miles after Veyo though. The downhill was steep and smooth after that. A couple of gusts of crosswind almost knocked me off the bike at 45 mph plus. That was a little nerve racking.

Run was as expected. It is steep in parts and basically never flat. You are either running uphill or downhill. I was tired, but felt well-prepared for the run.

It is going to be a long day.

From Ironman Reggie:
What Greg described is exactly what I encountered in early February. It will be windy through the Snow Canyon loop. It never stops. My cousin who was here last week has trained for several weeks on the course, and he says there will be wind. Veyo is nice though. If you are considering a road bike, you will wish you had your tri-bike on the drop out of Veyo.

And from Marlo:
Pray for a south wind.

The run will make you cry for mama.

So there you have it. Ironman St. George in a nutshell. Have fun out there, y'all.

Friday, March 26, 2010

So when I got the call saying “Let’s do Havasu,” my first thought was "Yeah that sounds fun." Then I asked the question of when and what was the distance? This is when I was a bit more hesitant to do it -- olympic distance in a month in a half.

Having done a handful of sprints I didn’t know if I could be ready in time. I had been doing the beginning stages of olympic training for a race I was planning on doing in May. I knew I could handle the swim ok and the bike would be no problem, but the run concerned me. The longest I had ever run on purpose was five miles, but at this point what is one more mile, right? Training went well and I was right on schedule and feeling strong, still a little worried about running. Race day came and I was not as nervous as I had been for previous races. This had to be a good sign. Don’t get me wrong, I was still nervous, but I do this for fun and that is the important thing.

The swim started a little rougher then I would have liked. I was cold and had a hard time getting a good breathing rhythm which was really frustrating, but I kept plugging along. After finally finding my groove, the rest went pretty smooth.

First transition was a little annoying, coming up to your spot and not being able to find your helmet or glasses thanks to someone else tossing your stuff around, but got it together and rolled on.

We had been told that the bike course was hilly and challenging -- I think that might have been understated a tad. I have never ridden anything like it! The only thought that kept running through my mind was “dig deep” and that is what I did.

Second transition went much smoother and I was off and running, six more miles, should be a great run on the fast, flat course. To my great surprise the run started on a sandy beach which for me, on tired legs coming straight off the bike, was not what I wanted to see. Luckily it wasn’t for very long, however I’m sure it seemed much longer then it was. So far so good. Follow the spray painted arrows and take them right up the flight of steps. Wait! Hold the phone! Flight of steps! I think I must have missed that somewhere in the course description of the fast, flat run course. None the less up, I went and had the great experience of running over London Bridge. I guess it was worth going up the stairs.

Running was going steadily and I kept thinking how nice it would be to have my iPod to pass the time, however, my time was going to be longer than originally planned. I was about to the turnaround of the course when I started having trouble breathing -- just all of a sudden. Never having this before I wasn’t sure what brought it on or what to do so I just started walking to get my heart rate down. This seemed to help. Thinking I was fine, I started to run again and again couldn’t breathe. I’m this close to the finish and quitting is not an option so that just left walking with short runs in between.

As I reached the last mile my good friend Amy was waiting to run with me, what a great surprise, it gave me just enough to push a little harder to try and finish strong. Once again down the stairs and along the sandy beach, I was greeted by the great support group of friends and there was the finish line. Yes I had made it! Coming across is one of the best feelings of accomplishment you can have. I was so thankful to be done, and glad that once again I had been pushed out of my comfort zone to do something I never thought I would have.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

It happens. Buy a bike. Join a riding group. Redline to stay with the pack. Excel.

Do a race. Fall off the back. Suffer. Middle of the pack or lower. Defeat.

Desire to improve. Reassess goals. Rewind. Start again.

If you've followed that chain of events in your lifetime, you are not alone. Keeping up with the neighborhood guys and doing your first race are vastly different situations. If you desire efficiency and a cohesive body/bike, it takes a little back pedaling.

Many cyclists and runners are on the fast track to nowhere. Our hearts are pumping at a rate that yields lactic acid too quickly. Our fit bodies are burning carbs instead of fat. We're not losing weight, we are maintaining it.

Which brings me back to the rewind stage. BASE training, those long conversational rides and runs, don't need to drive us to our knees. There is a time to go fast, but there is a time to go steady, too. A VO2 max test will put things into perspective. Are you a Porche running in third gear? Or are you a fuel-efficient Prius that gets 45 miles to the gallon? Get a test and figure it out.

Intense, off-the-charts riding and running does not need to be done on a daily basis. Many coaches recommend a three-to-one ratio of moderate rides to gut busting ones. You need to train your body to go fast. That is important. But you also need to train to be efficient. That means keep it slow, watch your heart rate, check your ego at the door, and enjoy the ride.

It's time to become that sexy Porche. And watch yourself zoom off into the sunset with gears to spare.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I've got a nice little supply of torture devices to my name-- medicine balls, stretchy bands, a BOSU, The Stick, to name a few. But the all-time most used piece of equipment I own is a six-foot nylon rope.

My rope is knotted at both end and is nothing special or expensive. But I use it daily for stretching. I wrap it around my heels and stretch my hamstrings. I hold it above my head and stretch my arms.

There are all kinds of uses for it. I even searched Youtube for some stretching techniques with a rope, but they are all so goofy that I just laughed.

You can get any length of rope you want at Home Depot or Lowe's. My six-foot one is perfect for me. For less than 10 bucks, you've got your own personal stretcher and your first addition to your own Bag of Tricks.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

There's a new craze in town and, as usual, I'm the last one to hear about it.

It's called Zumba.

Zumba is a half-80's-style-aerobic, half-salsa-dance fitness class that's set to a Latin gyrating rhythmic soundtrack. The classes are popping up at gyms all around the world. It's an hour-long class that seems like 30 minutes of saucy dance moves, and before you know it, you are sweating and smiling at the same time.

I'd like to show you a photo of my super hot Zumba instructor, but I don't think a still shot would do her justice after you've seen her moves. She was ah-mazing.

If you get the chance, give Zumba a try. Spending an hour in Zumba is a better choice than watching Dancing With The Stars. It's all about getting out there and moving! I took my daughter along and it was fun for both of us. As long as you don't spend too much time watching yourself in the mirror, or giggling at the other participants, you'll have a good time.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

I'm a Speedo-holic. I'm a devoted to their swimsuits, their goggles, their pool toys. For as long as I've been swimming, the Speedo Vanquisher Plus goggles have been my go-to pair. And yet, I was unfaithful this weekend.

After a discount shopping spree at Trisports.com, I bought some Blue Seventy goggles for a friend, and got a pair for myself. And I might have found a new favorite - sorry Speedo!

The Blue Seventy Siren goggles are designed for women, so their nose bridges are smaller, and their goggle gaskets are formed with higher cheekbones in mind. But what I liked was that they were comfortable without being snug. They have a split strap in the back which helped keep them on in rough water. And the lenses seemed larger, to help me site much better than before. Nice job Blue Seventy!

It's nice to see a company is listening to their consumers. While I'll always trust the Speedo brand, it's nice to have another company come forward with a fabulous new product.

But Morgan soon learned all his racing wasn't nearly as important as what was going on with his family. He had a daughter who was struggling. And he needed to help. Morgan pulled his daughter away from the negative situation that she was involved in, and enrolled her in Alaska's National Outdoor Leadership School. It changed her life and made her a more responsible, goal-oriented person.

Morgan wanted to help other kids have the same outdoor experience. So he started GECKO, (Giving Every Child Knowledge of the Outdoors). The foundation raises scholarship money for children to be part of the same wilderness camp that helped change his daughter's life. The scholarships are available to children from all walks of life, targeting those who need a break and want to get away from the "wired" lifestyle.

Morgan's passion and dedication to helping children was an inspiration to everyone who he came in contact with in Tucson. I wanted to spread the word about his great charity. He's a good guy, trying to do a good thing. Changing the world one child at a time.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Forty-three years I've lived in Arizona. And I never knew there was a ski resort in Tucson. Here's Gorilla athlete Jim Harris at nineteen miles up Mount Lemmon. He stopped for this photo op before speeding down to the city's 70-degree weather for a poolside lunch.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A big tip from Coach Bob Seebohar, registered dietician and triathlon nutrition expert: Take 3500/4500 milligrams of sodium spread out over three to four hours the night before a race. You can use Salt Sticks, salt on your food or S caps, whatever you like. Just pre-load that sodium to help you handle the physical challenge of a marathon or Ironman.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Mike Wares is the brains and the engine behind Tri-Mesa.com. This is his fifth Ironman and he traveled back to New Zealand in hopes of achieving a personal best. And, you guessed it, he smoked the race with his record setting time of 10:33! Here's Mikes play-by-play of his amazing day.

SWIM 1:04:09
BIKE 5:29:32
RUN 3:51:44
TOTAL TIME 10:33:24

PRERACE — I can’t stand this part. I can’t think about anything other than making sure I did not forget anything……did I do everything I needed to be ready……is my nutrition plan going to work ok…….should I use special needs for the bike and not carry three bottles…..whats the weather going to be like…..wind….no wind…..etc….etc. Slept great on Thursday night after registration but not to good on Friday night. Got down to venue with no issues…..no problems with the bike. I remembered this time that 8.2 bars is 120 psi for tire pressure (last time I just guessed and I think my tires were overinflated). Finally heading down to the swim I felt pretty calm and relaxed and ready to start the race. The announce said the winds were forecast to be light…..typical weather forecast……you can’t count on them!

SWIM – I love the swim in New Zealand. The water is crystal clear and the temp is perfect….66 degrees. Also, there are only about 1200 competitors vs. 2500 at US events. The race announcer, Mike Reilley said there were about 400+ first time Ironman competitors. I decided to line up right at the front. I was debating on were to line up and decided that if I was going to go for it I might as well line up at the front. I forgot that about 80% of the competitors were from Australia or New Zealand and they can swim fast. I have had clean swim starts at every Ironman in the past including Kona. Not this time. The gun goes off and it is shear pandemonium….the price for lining up in front. Good thing Paul and Laura made me do all the Hypoxic drills! I kept telling myself to not panic and don’t get kicked. It was like that for at least the first 300-400 meters and then things broke up and was able to settle in. One funny thing…..some of you know that I just sent back a brand new Blue Seventy Helix…..it did not fit me well and I just felt more comfortable in my Desoto. As I was swimming and getting passed I think everyone that passed me was wearing a Helix! The water seemed a bit choppy this time because I got a few gulps of water along the way…..I could tell the wind was picking up….so I had the feeling I was going pretty slow. I had a goal time of 64 minutes. When I got to the turn around I was surprised to see my time at 30:39 so I was pretty motivated to keep up the same pacing which I felt pretty comfortable at. I drafted as much as possible and soon was on the beach and remember crossing through the timing line just a few seconds past 1:04…..nice! As it turns out, I made up most of my time from my last IM NZ in the swim…..pretty cool…..I have to give props to Paul and Laura for all those tough workouts…..they made the swim awesome!

TI/BIKE — the run to T1 is way long and includes going up a steep hill with stairs…..it seems like it takes forever. Got my stuff and off to the bike. One of my shoes came off just as I got on the bike……never had that problem before…..collected it calmly and off. As you saw from my first loop, I was doing really well. On the first loop the winds were pretty light. About halfway back into town they started to pick up, but was still able to pace pretty good. In fact as I was riding along I came up on the guy that finished second in my age group last year and passed him……that was pretty awesome. I could not tell exactly what my first loop time was but I knew it felt pretty good and as it turned out it was 2:32. My goal was to go around 5:15 for the whole bike and was on track. I soon as we started the second loop I could tell the wind was getting bad. Once out of town on the open road it was pretty crazy. On the way out of town it was mostly a cross/tail wind and then cross/headwind on the way back. All I could think of was get to the turn around and then try and maintain pacing as best as possible. Finally made it over the last hill back into town and into transition and off the bike. Even though my finish time was only a couple of minutes faster than last time, it was a much harder ride due to the winds blowing the opposite way this time……overall I was very happy about my ride. One note…..the roads in New Zealand are pretty rough chip seal and the new COBB saddle was way way better than the last time.

T2/Run – Had a pretty good T2…..and headed out to the run. Last time I could barely run……this time felt much better. Was running just over 8 min pace for most of the first loop and felt pretty good. My goal time for the run was 3:35 and based on my first loop thought I was close to 3:40 pace. Unfortunately the wheels came off pretty much during the second loop. On the way out of town, the wind was blowing about 20mph in your face. I seemed to be able to handle it on the first loop, but not on the second. I would look down at my watch and with the wind and hills my pace was 9:30 but I could not go any faster. I would have to say that this was pretty much the most suffering I have done in a race in a long time. Getting to the turnaround took forever and when I finally got there my watch read almost exactly 9:30. I thought with only 10K left I could still go under 10:30. The last 2 miles I could not go faster than 9 min pace at best. One guy in my age group past me with less than a mile and it was all I could do to try and stay with him thinking that maybe I could repass him before we hit the chute…..to no avail…..there was nothing left.

FINISH – the finish is great…..Mike Reilly calling out your name, but I did not hear mine this time for some reason. I was looking for the camera to give everyone back home a thumbs up but could not find it. They escorted my to the tent and I sat down and was feeling pretty dizzy. Next thing I was laying down on a cot in the medical area and they were taking my blood pressure and heart rate. Looks like I got pretty dehydrated so I spent about 45 minutes with the medics until I could actually walk on my own.

Mike's finish time was sixth in his age group of 55-59 males. His next race is St. George Ironman in May. I think I smell a Kona qualifying time.....

Friday, March 5, 2010

RAGNAR Del Sol hit the Valley of the Sun last weekend. If you've never heard of the popular relay series, you should really check it out. A twelve-person team runs 200 miles in a point-to-point relay that runs continuously until the last relay team member crosses the finish line.

Relay events have become quite popular in the running community, and my friend Ryan has competed in several of them. Here is a report on Ragnar 2010m as well as how it compares to some of the others that he's done.

Ragnar Del Sol 2010
We had assembled the fastest Tri-Mesa team ever and were looking to improve on the 2nd place showing in the race last year. We started out strong and after the first 12 legs we were hanging around in the 2nd to 4th place range. Unfortunately there was a team from Flagstaff that had 12 fast guys wearing Dolphin shorts and nobody was going to catch them. First place was out of the question, but we were confident we can make a run at the teams in front of us.

We got word at about 2 am that there was an accident. All teams would be skipping legs 19-24 and were supposed to drive to the next major exchange. This obviously changed everything and it became very clear that the race was no longer going to be competitive. After much discussion we decided to pack it up and head home instead of waiting for our turn to race, which would have been another few hours of waiting.

Overall the race was a huge disappointment on many levels. The accident really changed things for those racing competitively, and once that was gone, we didn’t think it was worth it to keep going.

Even before the accident, I can’t say I was all that impressed with the race as a whole. The major exchanges were small and uneventful. The course itself wasn’t all that exciting and some of the legs on dirt roads were sketchy at best. During much of the course you are running on the side of the road with little to no shoulder with cars/trucks just buzzing right by you. I didn’t see a ton of volunteers out there and it just didn’t look as organized as it should be. To be honest, I don’t know if I will have interest in running the Del Sol relay again.

The Ragnar company as a whole does a pretty good job, but still a huge step down from the people who run the Hood To Coast.

The other Ragnar Relay that I’ve run a couple times is the Wasatch Back up in Utah. This is a very challenging relay race with some of the toughest climbs out there, including the dreadful #34 which is a climb of 1700 feet over 4 miles. Another big challenge with the Wasatch Back is the potential for a very warm/hot race. I remember a few years back when temperatures reached 95+ degrees and there were people needing medic assistance all over the course. It has become a bigger race, more teams, which means more volunteers and that is a good thing. It also has some of the best scenery out there including my favorite part which is a climb up old Snow Basin Road. The starting and ending locations are just ok, nothing too special. But overall a fun race and one that I would do again for sure.

As much as I enjoyed Wasatch Back, it really doesn’t come close to what they are doing up in Portland for the Hood To Coast relay. All you need to know is the race starts at a volcano and ends on the beach. What else do you want? There is the reason they call it the “Mother of all Relays” because it is the biggest and the best. The race caps it at 1000 teams and there is a lottery to determine who gets in. There is some serious competition and it attracts some of the fastest runners out there. I believe last years team finished the 197 mile race in 17 hours which is about 5:10 per mile. Crazy.

Bigger race means more traffic of course but it also means a much more efficient, well-run race with 12,000 runners and 3000 volunteers. The start of the race is located 6000 feet up at the Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood where you will see some snow and some incredible views. The first two legs drop a combined 3500 feet down the mountain. The race is filled with some of the most scenic roads you will ever see just lined with trees and green everywhere. Fast course with lots of downhill and normally perfect running weather. The finish is located on the beach in Seaside, or with a great view of the famous Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.

Another bonus of the H2C relay is being able to spend time in and around Portland. That is a great city. One of the highlights for our team going up to Oregon is going to NIKE headquarters in Beaverton and having time to visit the employee store. Highly recommended!

The most important aspect of all these relays is the people you are with and having a good time. If you don’t enjoy the people in your group, you won’t have a lot of fun doing these things…I don’t care if it is H2C, Wasatch Back, or Del Sol.

Having said that…if you are going to pick one of these relays…start planning your trip to Oregon right now!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Well, actually Jim would be most comfortable with this image of him...

Jim is a cyclist extrodinaire, lover of bikes, and a really great guy. He's done every race you can image. And after tackling most of biggies out there, I asked him to tell me about his favorites.

Longest race-Lots of 200 milers and the Cochise Classic 252 a few times, but the HooDoo 500 (which is actually 519, it's those last 19 that get ya) is my longest event thus far.

Fav long race--LOTOJA, even with the rough logistics in finishing 206 miles away from the start, it's still beautiful and challanging. Red Rock 200 is moving up though.

Cycling Tips -- Tip 1 --The most challanging aspect is feeding, finding that combination of nutrition that fuels the body for optimal performance yet doesn't make me sick or bloated. You'd think after all these years I would have it down, but I still struggle finding a good source of tolerable food.

Tip 2--I concern myself with time more than miles. I don't count the miles, it's too mentally taxing. I'd rather settle in knowing i'll be on my bike for a certain amount of time.

Tip 3--Learn patience in suffering. It can take some intense focus to ignore the physical maladies that one encounters during a long ride. I think of it as "suffering comfortably" and that frame of mind has served me well.

Tip 4--Relax and enjoy the event, come what may. I loved reading about Floyd Landis and his great attitude on training. He said when he has to do something tough, he say's to himself "What's the worst thing that can happen to me...death? Will I die if I ride another 100 mile in the rain? No I won't die, so I go do it." I apply that attitude to endurance racing, the physical strain won't kill me so I relax and enjoy.

Tip 5 -- Lastly, the most important tip of all is to help others along the way. More than any other benefit i've ever had in cycling is the benefit of serving others. Whether changing a tire, giving food or water to those without, or pacing someone to help them finish, I believe there is nothing more important or rewarding.

When is your next race? --To be honest, I don't "race" anymore. I guess with age comes an appreciation for the moment, "the now". I'd rather focus on the beauty of an area or the beauty of a group of cycling enthusiasts, some fast, some not, but all there with a common love of cycling. I don't even mind potentially bad weather, I love going up against Mother Nature, pile on that wind and rain or even snow, I feel it just tempers me into a better person. I've started seeking out new events that I haven't done before. You never know, I may hit upon another LOTOJA. I'm doing two new climbing races in California this year and I hope to go over to Europe with some friends to do an eight-day charity ride